by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

Maybe this wasn't Pee Wee Reese putting his arm around Jackie Robinson, but rookie Yasiel Puig was not only accepted by his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Tuesday, he also was embraced.

The Dodgers, a dysfunctional and underachieving team that has resembled a bad reality TV show all season, became an actual team during their fight night with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In fact, the brawl might have saved the Dodgers' season.

In one night, pitcher Zack Greinke became a hero to his teammates, outfielder Andre Ethier showed some life, manager Don Mattingly was fiery and catcher Tim Federowicz proved he belonged. Heck, even hitting coach Mark McGwire was intimidating again.

And Puig, who rubbed some teammates and coaches wrong in spring training with flamboyant behavior, was officially welcomed into the Dodgers family.

There will be plenty of suspensions handed down by Major League Baseball from the brawl, probably coming today. Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy will receive the biggest punishment, perhaps at least eight games. He threw a 92-mph fastball that brushed Puig's nose in the sixth inning and appeared to be an accident. He drilled Greinke in the left shoulder the following inning, but that didn't appear to be an accident. Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson will get an automatic one-game suspension for Kennedy's actions. And you can be sure there will be more.

You can't throw Diamondbacks bench coach Alan Trammell to the ground, as Mattingly did, and not get punished. McGwire can't grab Diamondbacks third-base coach Matt Williams with his right hand and Gibson with his left, looking like he was going to tear out their throats, and not get disciplined. Puig can't throw punches at Diamondbacks veteran Eric Hinske and be cleared just because they missed. Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell can't toss Diamondbacks assistant hitting coach Turner Ward over the first-base rail and pretend it was roller derby night.

Yet no matter how many penalties are announced, or how many games are missed, it's the best thing to happen to the Dodgers.

The man who made it happen was Greinke, who risked his health, even his reputation, to support teammates he barely knows, particularly Puig.

"That was unbelievable what he did, wasn't it?" former CNN talk show host and longtime Dodgers fan Larry King told USA TODAY Sports. "I love the way he acted. I love the way he comes to play. I love the way he stays on the bench the whole game. I love his whole attitude."

Greinke has been with his new teammates for four months. He has pitched in eight games, missing five weeks with a broken collarbone suffered in his last fight. Now, after getting hit near that collarbone, he might be the most respected player in the clubhouse.

"You hit our guy, we hit yours," Federowicz told reporters after producing the biggest hit of his career, a bases-loaded double in the eighth. "That's the way it should be. We'll see (Kennedy) next time. I hope we face him. It's going to be heated."

It's one thing for players to protect teammates, but when your entire coaching staff acts like the clocks have been turned back 25 years, brother, you have a team.

We'll see if Tuesday will change the Dodgers' direction or simply be a diversion in a season gone wrong.